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On Noise Reform

Come January, four decades will have passed since New York's newsstands last offered copies of the late, lamented Sun. How encouraging, therefore, to note from ''Football's Muzzled Masses Unleash a Call of the Wild'' (Views of Sport, Sept. 10) that W. C. Heinz is still going strong. To paraphrase a famous general: old sportswriters never die, they just keep getting better.

Heinz's history of the role of crowds at ball games makes good reading. One wonders why so many of those who regard themselves as sportsmen display so much partisanship that they drown out the opposing team. Should not enthusiasm be held within reasonable bounds?

Must there be a law? Can this increasingly ugly trend be curbed through legislation? I'd like to think so, but remain dubious. A genuine change of heart and attitude is essential for any reform to succeed. I could, of course, be mistaken.

Some will say that umpires will now have too much power. Since they are presumed to be nonpartisan, I don't see it that way. It might even be possible to extend such a regulation to teams other than those belonging to the National Football League. An experiment that's more noble seems essential if any semblance of order at the games is to prevail. THOMAS G. MORGANSEN Jackson Heights, Queens

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